


Possibly, Maybe (Falling for You)

by kappa77



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Bookstores, Fluff, M/M, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-20 09:40:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13715001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kappa77/pseuds/kappa77
Summary: A half-orc stumbles into a bookstore selling magical books with the owner in possession of a magic cat.This is either the worst intro to a joke, or the start to a great romance.





	Possibly, Maybe (Falling for You)

**Author's Note:**

> EDIT: And huge thanks for 100 kudoses!!! It's crazy that so many f you like my writing ^-^
> 
> Huge thanks to Soph for betaing!
> 
> Title is from Falling in Love in a Coffee Shop by Landon Pigg

Caleb’s day had so far been quiet, which wasn’t too much of a surprise. Owning a small bookstore in a large city meant the amount of people who walked in varied from a flood of bookworms to a couple of confused tourists asking for directions. Today, the sky was overcast with the promise of a storm, which meant either no one would come or he would just have people rushing in to have a few moments of being dry.

But he’d just started a new book and wasn’t too fussed about a slow day. His small teller’s window, really no more than the hallway that connected the store to Caleb’s apartment sectioned off with two Dutch doors and a small table to hold the register, felt cozy as he heard the first pitter patters of rainfall against the storefront window.

Just as Frumpkin jumped onto his shoulders and he cracked open his book, the bell above the door jingled, followed by the smell of rain against the city street. He glanced up. A tall man filling up nearly the entire door frame walked in, pulling down the hood on a poncho to reveal a handsome face, green skin framed by wet strands of dark brown hair.

The man looked around at the towering stacks of shelves, almost intimidated, before turning to Caleb.

“Hi,” Caleb said, remembering his manners, “Welcome to _Frumpkin’s Reads._ Do you need help finding something?”

“Oh, no, I’m…. I’ll be fine.” And with that, the man walked into the store, disappearing under the shelves.

Caleb and Frumpkin exchanged a look, or at least, that’s what it felt like to Caleb. He often did this when they saw people too scared to admit they wanted help. Frumpkin jumped off Caleb’s shoulder, slipping underneath the cat door that led to the main store. Caleb placed down his book and pulled down a sign to hang between him and the rest of the bookstore that read “Do Not Disturb”. Then, he closed his eyes, and began muttering the words to an incantation he knew like the back of his hand.

He opened his eyes and now he stood no more than a foot off the ground, plotting along as Frumpkin , weaving through the shelves and stacks of miscellaneous books, searching for the half-orc looking man.

It didn’t take long to spot a hint of green skin in between the books. Caleb-Frumpkin emerged from behind the shelf. From his vantage point, he could see the man looking up at cooking books, chin in his hand. Caleb-Frumpkin jumped up on a stack of books to get a better view. The man was frowning, staring intently at the books. His gaze broke when he saw Frumpkin. He knelt down, giving Caleb a full view of his strong jawline and a kind smile.

Caleb couldn’t hear or see from his own body, but he was vaguely aware of the faint blush creeping over his face.

“Hey little-” his nose scrunched up and he quickly ducked his face into his elbow, sneezing. He sniffled.

“Man, wish I wasn’t as allergic to you as I was. You were on the man’s shoulders.”

Frumpkin gave a soft _mrow_ and head-butted the man’s nearby hand.

“Aww, you’re a cute lil’ guy,” the man said, furiously wiping off his hand on the carpet, still looking at Frumpkin with a smile, “I don’t suppose you know where the books on magic are?”

Caleb was glad for the distraction, the feeling he’d been privy to a conversation not his own having been creeping up on him.  He used this ability to help customers who were too nervous to ask themselves, not get up-close-and-personal looks at the face of handsome men.

Caleb-Frumpkin jumped off the stack of books and started walking toward the back of the store. He looked over his shoulder to see the man stand in place, mouth agape, before shrugging to himself and following.

Caleb-Frumpkin ducked through shelves and hoped up on piles of books as they made their way, with the half-orc following. Caleb briefly came out of Frumpkin’s head to make sure no one else was in the store, but he just waved to Nott as she walked in, looking like a soaked rat before going back into Frumpkin’s head. They were almost there anyway, the books on magic taking up an entire wall. Caleb was absolutely biased with this section, but it was his favorite. The space atop the shelves not filled with books had candles and sacks of herbs giving the entire section an over-worldly feel. At least, for non-magic users. For everyone else, they’d probably question Caleb’s methods.

Caleb-Frumpkin jumped up to the top shelf, wedged between the metal shelves and a collection of books on evocation magic. From this height, Caleb could see the man’s face light up in awe.

Then his expression of awe switched focus to Frumpkin.

“Thank you, little one,” he said, voice breathy and full of wonder.

Caleb left Frumpkin’s view to let Frumpkin sleep and let the man peruse alone. His turned his attention to the book he’d wanted to start reading, but every time he finished a page, he couldn’t remember anything written, only the looks of wonder on the man’s face.

After twenty or so minute of trying to read and failing, his was further distracted by the man walking up to his window, two large tomes in his arms.

Caleb smiled. “Finally done, I was afraid we’d lost you there.”

“This is a very fine establishment you’ve got here,” the man said with a smile.

“Thank you, I’ve worked hard for it.” Caleb gestured to the two books. “Are you buying those?”

“Oh yes, definitely.”

Caleb smiled to himself as he pulled the books toward him and began the process of ringing the man up. As he did so, Frumpkin leaped up on top his shoulders before settling down to nap even more.

“And that’s a mighty fine cat you’ve got there. Very intelligent.”

Caleb reached up and scratched Frumpkin behind the ears, just where he liked it. “Well, there’s a reason the shop’s named after him.”

The man chuckled, “So his name is Frumpkin?”

“Mhm.” Caleb hit the last button on the register, letting the receipt printing and curling around the top. “Here you go.” He handed the books and receipt back to the man.

The man gave a huge grin. “Thank you kindly. I hope you have a good day.”

Caleb watched as the man left. At the same time, he heard Nott enter the small cubicle he was sat in. He felt Frumpkin jump off his shoulders onto Nott.

“Who was that?”

Caleb teared his eyes away from the shutting door. “Just a customer.”

“Ah okay.” Nott looked to Frumpkin, who yawned. “Frumpkin says you’re lying.”

Caleb smirked as he opened his book again. “I’ll believe you when I hear him speak.”

Nott began talking to Frumpkin as she went back to the apartment.

-=-

A week later, after Caleb was sure he’d forgotten the man, he came back, with a blue-skinned tiefling woman in tow, skipping along. She opened up the door with a flourish, eyes going wide as she entered.

“Woah, you were right, there ARE a lot here!”

The man followed behind her, “Yeah, I told you.”

The woman looked around the first room before her eyes landed on Caleb. She bounded up to the teller window, getting right in Caleb’s face. “Are you the man who gave Fjord the books?”

Caleb’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. “I… I am.”

She smiled. “Great! Where’s the books on art?”

“Um…” he leaned slightly out the window, pointing to the back. “Three shelves down, one to the right. If you see books on religion or nature, you’ve gone too far.”

“Thanks!” She turned to Fjord. “I’m going to get a book. You can stay here.”

“But-”

“Trust me!” She said before skipping off.

Without the woman in the room, the room suddenly felt quieter. Caleb and the man, Fjord, exchanged a look.

“So, your name is Fjord?”

“Mhm.”

“Mine’s Caleb.”

“Well, it’s nice to be properly acquainted, Caleb.” Fjord held out a hand and Caleb took it. He tried focusing on the feel of Fjord’s calluses to distract how his name sounded when Fjord said it.

“Are you, um, are you going to follow your friend?”

Fjord sighed, “No… no, but I probably should. She’s a bit of a trickster, but I trust her… for some reason.” Calen smiled as Fjord continued, “Besides, if I go back there, I’m going to buy more books.”

“I don’t see a problem with that.”

Fjord grinned. “As much as I’d like, I can’t go buying every book I want to, I have textbooks to buy.”

Caleb nodded. “So, you’re a student?”

“Yeah, bit of a late bloomer. While everyone else was going to college at a normal age, I decided to go abroad. Got a job on a fishing boat and ended up seeing way more of the world than I expected.”

When Fjord had finished, his cheeks flushed a dark green. “Sorry for my rambling.”

“No, it’s fine. I waited to go to college too. I understand.”

The two shared a moment of understanding before the space filled up with silence. That silence was broken by the wound of books toppling over within the store, followed by the shout of “Sorry!”

Fjord frowned, “I’m so sorry, I’ll make sure she cleans it up.”

Before Caleb could say not to worry, he’d do it later, Fjord was already weaving through bookshelves. He sighed, picking up his book and starting to read. He was about to get about ten pages in when books were suddenly slammed on top of the counter in front of him. He jumped backward, nearly falling off his chair.

He looked up and saw the tiefling woman, smiling.

“There were a lot of good ones! But I’m buying these!” Fjord cleared his throat behind her. She sighed, “And I’m sorry for knocking down your books. But they’re all better now!”

Caleb took the books from her and began ringing them up. “It’s alright, worse has happened.”

Her eyes lit up, “Like what?” Caleb could swear he heard Fjord groan behind her.

“Once, a couple dogs got in and started chasing Frumpkin around and started knocking down the shelves.”

“Ooooh, sounds like fun! I once turned all the books around in the library! But don’t worry, I won’t do that to your store. Fjord wouldn’t let me.”

Caleb glanced up as the receipt was being printed to see the woman beaming as Fjord decidedly turned around to face the other direction.

“Well, I certainly hope not,” He handed her her books. “Enjoy.”

“Thanks!” She paused and took a sniff. “You need a bath.” Before he could react, she waved a cheery good-bye, then grabbed Fjord by the arm and skipped out. As they left, eh could hear the beginnings on a conversation: “So, did you ask him-” before the door closed.

Caleb leaned back in his chair, taking a moment to relax before getting up and making his way to the main store. He walked to the art section and immediately his eyes landed on the books the woman must’ve knocked over. They were back on the shelf, but mostly out of order, with one with the spine facing the other way. He knelt down and started to rearrange them properly before heading back to the front of the store.

As he settled back down in his chair, he muttered the incantation to the message spell.

“Nott, can you remind me later to look into stocking textbooks in the future?”

A few seconds later, he got a reply, “Will do!”

He smiled.

“Thank you!”

-=-

Three days later, Fjord walked in the door, this time with a woman swaggering behind, wearing crop-top and low hanging sweatpants with her hair done up in a bun with the sides shaved. She walked into the store, looking bored, but then perked up when her eyes landed on Caleb.

“Heeeeey, you’re that guy!”

“… I’m the what?”

“You know, the guy! That Fjor- Ow!” Her statement was interrupted by Fjord’s quick elbow to the side. They exchanged a look that felt like it contained an entire conversation.

The woman broke the eye contact first. “Okay! SO, um, where are your… you know… your…”

The way she fidgeted and fumbled with her words was a sight Caleb often saw for patrons of a… certain genre.

“Adult? books?”

“Yes! Those!”

“All the way in the back-right corner.”

“Thanks,” she started walking that way, looking over her shoulder at Fjord one last time before disappearing between the shelves.

“So, uh, how’d you get into the book selling business?”

Caleb looked up at Fjord, who was leaning against a table holding the newly bought textbooks. He traced his finger on the cover of one of them, then looked up, smiling.

“Well,” Caleb began, “when I started out… on my own… I coveted every book I owned. And now that I’m far, _far_ better than I was before, I decided to open my own bookstore.”

Caleb briefly panicked, realizing he’d only met Fjord three times and he was already sharing stuff like this, but Fjord nodded.

“That’s really nice,” Fjord said. “Thank you for sharing that, you didn’t have too.”

“No, no it’s alright, it just came out.” Caleb silently hoped Fjord couldn’t see the pink of his cheeks.

“Would you like it if I shared something about myself? To even the playing field?”

“You don’t have to.”

“It’s fine.” Fjord picked up one of the textbooks before looking at him. “I was just gonna talk about how I’m majoring in the arcana, but I have no idea what I’m doing afterwards. The only ideas I have are freelance…. or open a magical bookstore.”

Caleb tried to stop himself from smirking, but it was hard. “Oh really?”

“Yeah, I heard people are in the market for more magical bookstores. They say one isn’t enough.”

“Well, good luck with whatever you do plan on doing.”

The woman returned, carrying an armful of paperbacks. She strode up to the counter, with no shame as she lay down the books on the counter. Fjord looked over her shoulder, but then quickly looked away at the sight of all the scantily clan women on the covers. Caleb began ringing her up, not taking too much notice at the images.

“Do you want a bag?”

“Sure.”

He bagged the books and handed them to her. “You two have a good day!!”

“You too!” they both said.

“And good luck with that bookstore, Fjord!”

Fjord gave him a smile in return. The woman with him said, “What bookstore?” as they exited.

-=-

Caleb laid in bed, staring at the beam of sunlight that pierced through the slates of his shutters. He’d been like this for at least two days. He couldn’t even enjoy being bedridden because the pressure of his sinuses made him not want to do anything but sleep.

All thanks to that couple who came in last week, sneezing and coughing all over the merchandise. He’d had the dreaded tickle in the back of his throat since then, culminating in where he was now.

“Caleb? Are you awake?”

He picked up his head a bit, able to see the tips of Nott’s ears before a spike of pain forced his head back in the pillow.

“Yes.”

He heard the shuffling of feet and then the bed dipped.

“How are you feeling?”

“Worse than yesterday.”

“Do you need anything?”

“No, thank you though.”

There was a beat of silence. Or rather, as silent as it could be with Nott in the room, pullion on the loose threads of the wool blanket over Caleb.

“The, um… Fjord’s downstairs… he said he wanted to talk to you, but I figured you wouldn’t want to like this, but I didn’t think you would want to not know, so yeah.”

His cold was already making his head spin, but Fjord wanting to see him made it worse. “Did he say what for?”

“No, but he looked nervous.”

“Tell him to come back another day. I’m too sick to be out front.”

“Okay. If you need anything, let me know?”

Caleb smiled. “I will.”

Nott seemed satisfied with that, as she hopped off the bed and out the bedroom. Caleb rested his head back on the pillow, landing himself in a coughing fit that made him nearly sit back up. When it stopped, he felt the familiar prodding at his brain that meant Nott was using message.

_He wasn’t here when I got down. Sorry._

Caleb reassured it wasn’t her fault before sinking into the pillow and closing his eyes, trying to fall asleep despite the restlessness in his brain.

-=-

Fjord didn’t come back after that, even when Caleb had recovered. His friends stopped by every so often, browsing shelves, or coming purely to talk to Caleb. They were nice, but they were also a reminder of the half-orc that was definitely not there with them.

Caleb started to busy himself by rearranging the front room, over and over. Pushing tables together, putting them in different places, anything to distract him from his own inner-monologue, how he’d gotten too attached to a customer, how he shouldn’t have thought it could be more than that.

Fjord was just an ordinary customer. An ordinary customer who was exceedingly handsome and kind to boot and-

Caleb shoved a table against another one, the sound sharp and loud and gone just as quickly, followed only by the sound of books falling to the floor.

He sighed, kneeling and picking them up, haphazardly stacking them on the table.

The bell above the door rang as his back was too it.

“In a minute!” He said, a touch too gruffly.

“Do you need a hand with that?”

Caleb froze, recognizing that southern drawl.

He stood up, arms still full of books as he turned and saw Fjord standing there.

“Hey,” Caleb said, feeling as if the air had been knocked out of him.

“Hey.”

An uncomfortable silence permeated between them.

“So do you need help, with those…?”

Caleb looked down at his load, belatedly realizing two were slipping between the cracks.

“I… yes, thank you.”

Fjord wordlessly came up to him, grabbing some books out of his arms and piling them on the table. They finished picking up the books quickly, leaving Caleb awkwardly fidgeting in place. What could he say that wouldn’t be over-sharing?

Thankfully, Fjord was the one to break the silence. “Could you… Could you show me the magic section again? I’m looking for a particular book.”

“Oh, sure.”

They silently walked through aisles of books, Caleb leading with Fjord’s presence not far behind. Once they reached the back, Caleb stepped to the side letting Fjord walk in. Caleb could just barely make out Fjord’s face from this angle, but he could just see the same wonder and awe he saw that first time he showed Fjord here.

He turned to walk back to the front, maybe even to let Nott man the front, when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

“Wait, I… I’m sorry, I didn’t come here to buy a book. I… The other day, I came here to ask you a question, but I chickened out at the last second, and I apologize for that. I shouldn’t have done that then not come for weeks.”

Caleb turned to look at Fjord, who’s earnest expression cut straight through the pain Caleb had just been feeling.

“Apology accepted. What… What was your question?”

Fjord took a deep breath, looking down at his hands. “Would… Would you like to accompany me for a cup of coffee? As a date.”

“You… you’re asking me on a date?”

“Yes. Yes, I am. I know we don’t know each other very well, but I want to get to know you and-”

“Yes.”

“Oh… okay. Does this Saturday work?”

Caleb thought for a moment. “What if instead, you join me in the back for coffee right now?”

Fjord’s eyes widened. “Now?”

“It’s nearly closing time. Nott can take over. And we can have coffee.”

“I’d like that very much.”

Caleb smiled and Fjord smiled back.

**Author's Note:**

> CAN I TELL Y'ALL HOW SELF-INDULGENT THIS WAS??!?! It was pretty self-indulgent
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed it. I'm considering writing this from Fjord's perspective, but I'm not sure. If I get more ideas for unique fics, I'll probably tackle those first (but I havent had a lot of those recently rip me)
> 
> Anyway, if you wanna talks Crit Role with me, im at kappa776.tumblr.com


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